Skipped the convention last night; opted to sleep instead. I figured John Kerry would get the nomination (was I right)? Let The Gal watch instead and was awakened by her laughter during "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (TOLD you it was hilarious!).

Instead, I opted to e-mail this letter to the Kerry campaign this morning:

"In the Advocate recently , Vanessa Kerry noted that John Kerry's "core value . . . is equality. And while he supports civil unions and not marriage, his approach is one of full equality..."

This week, she continued to discuss gay marriage with journalists (as reported by Knight Ridder reporter Dana Hull) noting that "he [Mr. Kerry] believes in civil unions, which is still equal rights under the law."

Please allow this lesbian-mother-voter-resident-of-the-"swing-state"-of-Pennsylvania to educate Ms. Kerry and Mr. Kerry: "civil unions" are NOT "FULL & EQUAL" RIGHTS under current laws in the United States.

I have a Civil Union from the state of Vermont, although I live in Pennsylvania. I do not have FULL, EQUAL RIGHTS in Pennsylvania. I do not have FULL, EQUAL FEDERAL RIGHTS (only State rights, if I were to reside in Vermont).

There are 1,138 federal statutory provisions involving marital status (see GAO Accounting report 2004) -- and civil unions provide for very few of these.

Only Gay Marriage will afford FULL & EQUAL RIGHTS for LGBT persons under the law. If Mr. Kerry truly supports "full equality" for LGBT people, he would support gay marriage.

If the issue is one of the word "marriage," then I propose that Mr. Kerry offer an alternative -- perhaps a federal civil union category that would provide the SAME 1,138 federal rights (and all respective state rights) for LGBT people, and one that ALL states and territories of the U.S. would have to recognize.

Otherwise, I implore of Mr. Kerry and Ms. Kerry to, please, stop saying that the campaign is for "equality" of all people; your supporters are not uneducated. We know that civil unions are not full equality. To many of us, it just sounds as if Mr. Kerry is another Mr. Clinton -- full of big ideas about equality for gays and lesbians, but not "full" equality."

Another day, another round of speeches. I tuned many of them out tonight.

Ended up getting home late after dinner (and ice cream!) and totally missed the HRC's Cheryl Jacques speak. Ok, she was at 6:00 pm, so I doubt I would have caught her, anyway (and only those of us with cable / C-SPAN would even have had access to watching the convention THAT early), but I understand it was "historical." The first time a national LGBT group/leader was invited to speak at a convention. See, they DO love us gays; just not in Prime Time!

Al Sharpton was energetic. I understand he went "off topic." Missed it. Tuned out. Fast Eddie made Prime Time. Caught the tail end of his speech after putting The Banana to bed. Couldn't get past The Visual to listen to his speech; he was wearing these really ugly, circa 1979 frameless Dad glasses. Took me a few minutes to recognize him. His voice even sounded different (in a higher octave, for some reason).

John (Cougar) Mellencamp performed. Small Town. What else would he have played? Heard on the radio his wife is a delegate from Indiana. Nepotism abounds. Don't know what all of the criteria was for getting picked to have one of those seats behind the stage, but I'm pretty sure "can cheer with enthusiasm" and "has good dance moves" were near the top.

One thing starting to get on my nerves - not sure if you national network or PBS folks get this, but between speakers, they flash these images on the screen behind the podium of Real Live Republicans Who Are Going to Vote for John Kerry in the Fall. It's the music that gets me - a cross between a "news brief / Dateline" sort of sound and the theme to "Rocky." I look up every time, expecting a tornado warning or something and a news ticker flashing across the bottom of my screen.

So, more blah blah blah. Cate Edwards is cute. Mrs. Edwards has a nice southern drawl. Mr. E. energized the crowd. Can't recall a word of what they said; but that slogan for the night - "Hope is on the Way" - how hokey can you get?

More on the DNC (an acroynm which, technically, stands for the Democratic National Committee, but the media seems to be using it for the Convention, as well. . . hmm. . .)

Tuned in early to catch the Freedom Delegation tribute. Boy, Ossie Davis is looking old. Ruby Dee, just lovely. Maya Angelou, be still my heart. Kind of disapointed that I didn't hear anyone use Fannie Lou Hamer's "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired" quote (could have been I was putting The Banana to bed, though).

Then, blah blah blah, Ted Kennedy (missed it). Howard Dean (saw it, not much to say except, I was glad for all His Delegates that he got to speak). Some Democratic governors. Ron Jr. (pretty good, but better when Terry Gross interviewed him on NPR last week). More Dems dancin' in the aisles. I swear I keep seeing the same young woman each time they show the audience. At least she's a good dancer.

Was very glad I forced myself to stay awake for Baraka Obama. It's true. He is very charismatic, a good speaker, has an interesting family background, is bi-racial, has worked with the poor on the south side of Chicago, came out publicly against the Iraq war (ok, well, not last night, but before), etc. I give him 16 years before "Hail to the Chief" rings in his ears.

One of the highlights of last night (so much so that I fell off my sofa laughing so hard I woke up The Gal a full floor above me) was Ilana Wexler from Kids for Kerry. The 12-year old from California called for a "time out" for The Veep because he said a "very bad word" on the floor of the Senate.

Then, ah, Teresa Heinz Kerry. Greeting everyone in 5 languages. Visibly touched by her son's moving introduction of her. Second best quote of the night: "And my only hope is that one day soon, women - who have all earned their right to their opinions - instead of being labelled opinionated will be called smart and well informed, just like men." Yo go, girl!

Speaking of opinions, that "shove it" thing with the reporter. Double "yo go, girl." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (owned by one Richard Mellon Scaife, check him out on the web) is such a slanted, right-wing newspaper that I wouldn't be surprised if the reporter was baiting her!

This week, my lucky readers, you will get my impressions of, yes, the Democratic National Convention.

First thing you should know, I'm watching it on C-SPAN. None of that sniveling commentary for moi! ["Oooh, the Dems might have just lost a few votes with that speech, Jim. . ." or "The key here is for the Democrats to convert the undecided voters, Bill. . ."]

I must say, I loved Al Gore. This from the gal who wasn't very hot on him 4 years ago and seriously considered voting for Nader. He was funny, self-depricating, honest, comfortable, and did I mention funny!? [Sample joke = "This presidency has seen more jobs lost than ever before; and I should know, I was the first one to lose my job!"] And, yes, he kissed Tipper again!

A big M.U. Rah- Rah here to the students from Marquette, live via satellite (one of only 4 sites). On behalf of the "students from Wisconsin," they introduced Tammy Baldwin. You know, the openly lesbian Congresswoman. Not that it was ever mentioned. At one point in her speech, she mentioned that Kerry would provide "health care for all. Including domestic partners." Got a big round of cheers from the audience. That was our one liberal bone for the night.

One thing I could do without: Since I've opted for the non-commentary version of events, instead of commentary or commercials in the 3-4 minutes between speakers, I get camera shots of all the funky Dems dancin' in the aisles to James Brown and the like (gettin' down with their bad selves). Not a pretty sight.

Ok, who else thought Barb Mikulski looked pretty funny up there at the podium, so short of stature compared to her fellow 8 female Senators? The Gal caught a bit of "the show" as she was passing through and quite enjoyed (as did my Train Buddy Bryan) Senator Blanche Lincoln behind Mikulski, waving to the crowd and having a good ole' time on stage.

Personally, I was depressed that we Dems feel the need to promote --- ooh ! -- how cool and liberal and fair we are 'cuz we have 9, count 'em 9 (!) female U.S. Senators. Hello People! There are 50 states, 2 per state = 100 Senators. If we have 9 Dems who are women, and what (?) like 5 Republicans, that's 14 divided by 100 x 100 (for %) = oh, like 14% of the Senate. Hmmm, let's see, women are 51% of the population. . . 14% of the Senate. . . yeah, that's fair! [However, some extra credit points here to California, Washington and Maine for having 2 female Senators in their states :) ]

For tomorrow: I'll review the video of the Clintons' speeches and report back. Too tired to watch tonight. I'm sure, though, I'll hear all about it on NPR - all morning, all afternoon, blah blah blah.

Today, I'm not really into NPR's coverage of the 9/11 Hearings. Decided to listen to some tunes instead. Hmmm... lookie here, I happened to bring the "Rent" soundtrack to work today for a co-worker who plans to see it in December (for the first time). Some great words of wisdom, spewing forth from the speakers:

"There's only now / There's only here / Give in to love / Or live in fear
No other path / No other way / NO DAY BUT TODAY"

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred moments so dear /
How do you measure - measure a year?
In daylights / In sunsets / In midnights / In cups of coffee
In inches / In miles / In laughter / In strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love."

"Without you / The ground thaws / The rain falls / The grass grows
Without you / The seeds root / The flowers bloom / The children play
The stars glem / The poets dream / The eagles fly / Without you
The earth turns / the sun burns / But I die / Without you"

Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel (from PA !) was arrested outside the Sudanese embassy in D.C. while protesting genocide in Sudan. I'm so proud.

Having just heard a very touching (however, very lo-o-ong) NPR piece on settlement camps in the Sudan - focused mainly on impoverished and dying Sudanese children - I was pleased to hear that an actual U.S. Official - an Elected Representative to boot ! - was getting involved!

While they're not sure "how this will play" with his constituents back home (me ! me !), I, for one, am glad SOMEone, SOMEwhere is taking a stand. Can you see Arlen Specter spending any time in jail? Or, Rick Santorum?

You go, Joe!

So, let's do some Tidbits, today, shall we?
 

The Kobe Bryant defense team is calling for the accuser's sexual history to be usable in court. Personally, I'd like to see Kobe's sexual history used as well. How many hotel employees has he allegedly had sex with? What really goes on when an NBA team is on the road? Do we really want to know? Or will it just feed the fodder for more high schoolers to go right to the pro's instead of opting for college.
 

Speaking of college, how about those "harsh" comments recently from Bill Cosby? To men: "Stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education and now you're (earning) minimum wage."  To parents: "Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day, it's cursing and calling each other n------ as they're walking up and down the street."  The truth hurts.
 

It's all really about money though, don't you think? The black community took offense because Cos was talking about the black community. But, you really could just as easily substitute any poverty-stricken, lower class community in the U.S. in his remarks. Lack of access to heath care, affordable housing, a livable wage. Distain for elders, teachers, "the man" - born out of the loss of dreams, the belief that you can make something of your life. At least Cos puts his $$$ where his mouth is and supports scholarships for inner-city kids who stay in school.
 
 

No tidbits today. Instead, an international story and more of my ranting against the so-called liberal media.
 
As heard today on "Here and Now," my lunchtime NPR program - a story about the Presbyterian Church considering pulling any financial investments from Israeli companies, supposedly because they (the Presbys) are opposed to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
 
Yeah. Well. We all want peace in the Middle East. Why not also call for a pullout of investments in Palestinian companies?
 
Simple question, eh?
 
Does the NPR reporter ASK this question? Nooooooo. She takes the easy route - the soft question, the leading question - along the lines of "do you not think this is discrimination?" (I didn't get the full, exact quote of the question, as I was too busy spitting out my yogurt)
 
What's the Presby guy supposed to say?  "Oh, well, yeah. But we're going to do it anyway. You know, we hate the Jews. Taking over our Christian land, and all. And let's not forget, it was The Jews Who Killed Jesus."
 
Blah, blah, blah. Darned talking heads. Where, o where, is my Voice of America?
 

So, the "motion to invoke cloture" (what a great word, eh?) on the Federal Marriage Amendment (a.k.a. The Dreaded FMA) - which would amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage in America as the union of one man, one woman - was defeated yesterday in the U.S. Senate, 50-48. [See how your legislator voted!]

Neither Kerry nor Edwards voted. Didn't need to. The GOP needed about 67 or so votes to move the motion forward. Five of them (and one Indy) voted against doing so. (On the flip side, three Dems voted to move it forward -- Byrd of WVa, Nelson of Nebraska, and Zell Miller of GA who might as just well join the GOP already!)

The "bad news" - here in PA : Sen. Arlen Specter voted FOR cloture (moving the amendment forward). Athough it was not, technically, a vote FOR the FMA (they never got that far), it doesn't look good for the LGBT community.

Nor for women, or anyone concerned about a woman's right to choose. Specter also recently voted J. Leon Holmes of Arkansas to a U.S. District judgeship. The "Independent Judiciary" web site had this to say about Mr. Holmes:

"Throughout his career, J. Leon Holmes has actively worked to undermine a woman's right to reproductive choice. His zealous advocacy for doing away with such a fundamental right, along with extreme statements he has made about the separation of church and state, gay rights, and gender equality, raises serious questions about his fitness for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench."

Thus, I have this to say about Specter : HoeffelForSenate.com
 

A shout out to my Train Buddy Bryan today. Last night, the Daily Number in PA was the infamous 6-6-6.

You may recall that he and I had a disagreement previously about what the Daily Number was that year in PA when there was "the scam." I thought it was 4-4-4. He, correctly, identified it as 6-6-6. I apologized publicly. (Okay. In this here blog.)

The other day, though, the number WAS 4-4-4.

What's going on? The PA Lottery running scared now that slots are on the horizon that they've taken to rigging the number again?

Don't know why. They're reporting today that the Lottery ("for the benefit of older Pennsylvanians" doncha know) made more money last year than ever before.

Heck, once this economy gets better, as Bushie is saying that it is, we'll all have tons of discretionary dollars to spend on gas, food, lodging, slots, AND the lottery (both the Afternoon and Evening drawings)!

I, for one, can't wait. Maybe I'll buy that little piece of swampland down in Florida I've had my eye on!

The Gal saw some GW Bush TV ad recently and complained to me about it. I finally saw it myself and I have to agree with her, Bushie sure can "mislead" folks. Case in point:

The ad notes that his opponent (Kerry) voted against (!) the "Laci Peterson Law" (as if this were a bad thing) - a law that "protects women from violence". (Hey, I just write what I see!)

WRONG !!!

The law doesn't protect anyone. It enables a prosecutor to charge a person with TWO counts of attempted murder, homicide, whatever (one count=mother; second count="unborn fetus" - emphasis mine) -- as if one count is not enough!

As if this law, or any law for that matter, is going to "protect" women (or even children - unborn or otherwise) from violence.

Until our society chooses to value a culture of non-violence (something our War-Mongering Leader of the Free World can't seem to do) and respect for our fellow man / woman (something most of us can't seem to do, yours truly included on some days) - there will always be homicides, assaults, rapes, hate crimes, etc.

Don't even get me started about people having access to guns!

Ok, so two LaSalle men's basketball players have been accused of rape. There is DNA evidence. Allegations of a previous cover-up of a rape by a 3rd hoopster; covered up by staff members of both the men's and women's teams.

So how come the only thing being discussed in Philadelphia is what this will mean for the b-ball program at LaSalle?

People have actually said to me, knowing I am a big college hoops fan, "Don't you feel bad for LaSalle, Philly hoops (in general)?"

How about -- I feel bad for the women who were (allegedly) raped!!!!!

Really! Let's think about what's important here, people!

Friday Tidbits:

Lots of federal indictments happening in The Big City these days. Ah, the life of Philly politics. When can I move to Canada?

N.A.A.C.P. in town this week. Bushie refused an invitation to address the group. Only sitting president do have done so in recent times. Is he trying to lose the election?

Saw a disaster movie today, "The Day After Tomorrow." Global warming, unheeded warnings by scientists to our political leaders, father-son sub-plot, icebergs take over New York City. Not bad. But if you ask me, rent "Volcano" with Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche instead (lava flows from the La Brea Tar Pits!).

Back to my NPR addiction. Today's Big Topic in PA : Legalized Slots!

Interesting to hear an actual debate on the subject. Seems like the GOP is bringing the issue of morality back into the legislature. Just because some people think gambling is a sin doesn't mean they need to try to legislate their morals!

Here's what I like about the Slots:

Reduced property taxes.

Reduced city wage tax.

New jobs created.

I won't have to worry about my family driving very far to play their Beloved Nickel Slots. [They now go to Niagara Falls or West Virginia.]

My dad can't wait to get a post-retirement, part-time job making change! Erie's "racino" is slated to be on the site of the old Hammermill / International Paper factory. They left town and left Erie's East Side economy in a downfall. Slots will bring it back up.

My only gripe? That legislators can buy in (at 1%) to proposals for the sites. Not for the reasons you may think, however.

Let them make their money. Personally, I'd like to make some of my own. Only, I wouldn't be able to get a bank loan to be able to invest in the Slots; our legislators, most likely, will. Doesn't seem fair to me.

Speaking of fair, what's this about the NFL checking into Steeler Jerome Bettis' possible investment in a potential gaming parlor? Heck! If our elected officials can make money off this deal, why not a private citizen like The Bus?

Back in the Big City, sitting at my desk. Tidbit time? You bet!

Can I just say, I almost hate traveling anymore. Driving the PA Turnpike from end to end can be quite boring. There are only so many Indigo Girls songs one can sing along to, in order to stay alert. After a while, your throat begins to hurt.

Holiday travel is even worse. Everyone and their brother were driving, it seemed, this weekend. Some bright spots, though: Free coffee. Gas at $1.75 in some places. McDonald's Happy Meals for the girls.

And, there IS a Starbucks in Erie, now. Hit it all three days. They know my aunt there by name (she was even Customer of the Month once).

Disapointment of the weekend: in our search for new flattened pennies - you know, those things you make for $0.50 plus a penny in various machines - The Banana and I (we collect them) found a great machine that imprints pennies with logos of the Steelers and Pirates and the Pittsburgh Incline! But, it was broke.

Back in my corner of the Work World, it's strange the small things you miss when they're gone. My coffee guy, for instance. He knows just how I like my coffee. He's on vacation this week. Our doorman. Always had a smile on his face and a friendly word to say. He passed away recently. My work day is not the same without them.

Spending the holiday weekend in my hometown of Erie, PA. Summer in a resort town. Ah, life is simple, here.

People drive their cars slower.

Gas, food, lodging: all are cheaper.

The newspaper only has 3 small sections to muddle through.

No one's listening to NPR (a good thing, when you're on vacation).

There's a small town pace, a small town feel; even though, Erie was once the 3rd largest city in PA (I think the megaopolis of Scranton-Wilkes Barre has now surpassed the North Coast in that category).

Best of all --> took two 6 year olds, two grandparents, a partner and an aunt to the local amusement park - Waldameer - and only spent about $80 total (mostly on games of chance).

Free parking.
Free entrance.
Only pay for what you ride.
Food was decently priced.
Rest rooms were clean.

And, they had this great water spray you could walk through when you got too hot.

Second best of all --> Presque Isle State Park (known to the locals as "the peninsula") is still free! There had been talk of charging admission at one point; glad that never happened.

Take it from me, who had to pay to get into the State Park in Springfield, Mass. just to play in a nice playground and had to endure some of the worst language I've ever heard coming from kids' mouths!)